Grade 9 Science Electricity Unit

We build up concepts of charge and electrical interactions through careful experiments and observations. Students learn how to draw charge diagrams to represent the configuration of charges in solid matter. In particular, we look at the behaviour of insulators and conductors. This helps us explain how current works. We emphasize understanding how charges move in circuits and track the energy transfers that occur. We carefully introduce the concepts behind Ohm's law before the mathematics. We do not analyze complex circuits that combine series and parallel connections (gotta save something for grade 11 physics!)

The topic of electrical interactions is one of the most important scientific ideas encountered in high school (a close second behind the particle theory of matter) because it explains all of chemistry and electronics; it deserves a very close exploration.

We do lots of experiments that are quite robust and should be at least passable on a humid day. Videos are included just in case!

The .jar file is a Java circuit simulation you can open from a browser. It lets you load my circuit files such as "3 circuits".

Learn More

• Visualizing Static Electricity

• Learning the Current Electricity Ropes

• The End of Conventional Current

• Comparing Circuits: The Light that Burns Brightest

• The Plinko Model for Electrical Energy

• Assessment Using Authentic Tasks

• Comparing bulbs in different circuits

• Scientific Models for Polarization